Habib has Hong Kong at heart

Aftab Habib played county cricket for Leicestershire, Essex and Middlesex during his career © Getty Images

Coach Aftab Habib believes Hong Kong must prove themselves at the ICC World Cricket League tournament in Tanzania before aspiring to play in the World Cup.

Hong Kong had a brief taste of the higher echelons of international cricket in July, when they met India and hosts Pakistan in the Asia Cup.

But Habib, the former England batsman, has guarded his players against premature thoughts of competing in the 2011 World Cup, and urged them to concentrate on preparing for WCL Division Four, which begins on Saturday.

The finalists of the six-team tournament retain hope of qualifying for the flagship 50-over event in the Indian subcontinent in three years time.

“We need to keep our feet on the floor,” said Habib, 36, who has been in his post for a year since retiring from a county career taking in Middlesex, Leicestershire and Essex.

“There’s no doubt it was a good learning curve to play against India and Pakistan. We had Pakistan 161 for seven and in a tricky situation.

“We are good enough to win this tournament, as long as we play some smart cricket. But things can change quickly.

“Most of the teams are on a par. I wouldn’t say there is an outstanding favourite. It will be decided on the day. But we’re quietly confident.”

Hong Kong, ranked 25th in the world, play Italy, ranked two places below them, at Dar-es-Salaam University ground on Saturday.

They will also play Tanzania (26th), Afghanistan (28th), Fiji (29th) and Jersey (30th), before progressing to the final back in the Tanzanian capital on October 11 - if they finish in the top two.

The two finalists are assured of a place in the 2009 Division Three tournament, scheduled to take place in January or February next year.

Hong Kong spinner Nadeem Ahmed ran through the Pakistan batting line-up during the recent Asia Cup

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That is the carrot for teams like Hong Kong, because the top two in Division Three have the right to compete to qualify for the 2011 World Cup, to be held in the Indian subcontinent.

“Division Three is the goal,” says Habib. “If we can get there, then we have a shot at World Cup qualifiers. There’s a huge opportunity for Hong Kong to go down that route.”

On the slow, low pitches of Tanzania, spin may be invaluable, and that is a facet of the game in which Hong Kong has strength.

Slow left-armers Nadeem Ahmed and Najeeb Amar were instrumental in cutting through Pakistan in the Asia Cup, and Nadeem also recently scored a century against the United Arab Emirates to help Hong Kong win the Asian Cricket Conference Elite Trophy in Malaysia.

Habib added: “We actually have four spinners. Our leg-spinner (Nizakat Khan Mohammad) is only 16 years of age. We’re encouraging a couple of youngsters to have a glimpse of it. He might get a chance as well.

“We have all-round strengths, which augurs well for one-day cricket. Playing in different conditions enables them to become good players. It’s a real education for them.”

Hong Kong’s defeat of rivals UAE in Kuala Lumpur represents something of a breakthrough for Habib’s side, however small.

The Gulf State are the number one ranked Asian team outside of the Test-playing nations, and enjoyed a golden spell in the mid-1990s, when they won the 1994 ICC Trophy and qualified for the 1992 World Cup, beating the Netherlands.

“UAE are in the WCL Division Two, two groups ahead of us,” explained Habib. “We’ve beaten them and in doing that, we’ve shown we have talented players. Any competition that you win breeds confidence.

“Hong Kong have played against UAE may times before I became coach. It means a lot to the guys to beat them and stands us in good stead.”

The composition of Hong Kong and the UAE sides is symptomatic of cricket outside the elite. Both teams are reliant on ex-pats, mostly from Pakistan.

Habib, born in Reading to Indian and Pakistani parents, speaks Punjabi and Urdu, which is helpful in dealing with the largely Pakistan-born Hong Kong side. But he is prepared to look beyond the here and now.

“There are a lot of Pakistani-born players playing in Hong Kong. There’s also Rory Lansom, who is part-Chinese,” said Habib.

“There are some very talented players. It’s a matter of letting them express their natural ability and then tinkering with their techniques.

“It would be nice to see some more Chinese faces playing the game of cricket. In playgrounds and schools we’re getting one or two teams together. Our women’s team actually has a lot of Chinese players.”

The 2008 Hong Kong Sixes takes place on November 8 and 9, and Habib belives the promotion of the world’s number one sixes tournament is key in expanding cricket’s appeal in the Chinese port

England, among others, have once again sent out a formidable side for this year’s tournament, boasting internationals Dimitri Mascarenhas, Tim Bresnan, Ed Joyce, Jonathan Trott and Darren Maddy. Derbyshire all-rounder Graham Wagg and 2008 Twenty20 Cup MVP Graham Napier complete the seven-man party.

“The Sixes is fantastic because of its pull,” says Habib. “It encourages a lot of people to come and watch. Especially being in Hong Kong, we’re trying to catch Chinese players, and get the local population involved.”